I moved to Abbotsford 20 years ago to provide the key support in my brother’s sobriety plan.

The key to his plan was starting his day with the 6:40 AM attitude adjustment meeting at the Alano Club. Divorced, with custody of his two young children, he needed someone who would be considered appropriate and responsible to leave his children in the care of should the matter of custody end up back in court.

It was considered unlikely that any judge would feel leaving the kids in the care of his big brother, the children’s uncle, a Chartered Accountant, was irresponsible behaviour.

In those twenty years I have been a professional Chartered Accountant, The Boss, a business and systems consultant and a small business owner.

As a result of mental illness several of my 20 years in Abbotsford were spent homeless on the streets of Abbotsford.

Stubbornness, the love of reading and learning instilled by my parents and luck allowed me to overcome the barriers raised by homelessness and achieve mental wellness; which in turn permitted me to become and stay housed.

It was a journey that resulted in knowledge and understanding of homelessness, mental illness, poverty, addiction, people and life that I had had no interest in learning, but that could be gained in no other way.

Achieving mental wellness required me to learn not simply about mental illness but to be conscious about who I was, who I wanted to be, the type of person I wanted to be, to heal old wounds, to change negative, harmful negative core beliefs to positive beliefs and to practice good mental hygiene.

It is a journey that has made me comfortable in my own skin, allows me to laugh at myself and accept my quirks, sense of humour, thought processes and creativity.

It also, in a very real sense, hijacked my life. Looking for employment I have accumulated a stack of ‘thanks but no thanks’ letters stating I am too ‘over qualified’ for the job; with prospective employers with employment that fell into the ‘qualified but not overqualified’ category the stigma resulting from the public perception of mental illness resulted in the prospective employers being to nervous about mental illness to give me the opportunity to demonstrate that dealing with mental illness had a positive effect on me and my abilities and my performance.

I am not sure what would have been the result if I found myself in the same frustrating, no employment, no prospects of employment, grinding poverty, homeless state of affairs before I had taken my journey of self discovery but it would not have been pretty.

Although I was living in my car, I took advantage of my 1 hour of internet time a day at the Library and started a blog/webpage about my view from the street and became involved in the community and issues; found a place to reside and achieved a precarious financial balance.

Comfortable in my own skin I found that I could run for Abbotsford City Council, where once even the thought of doing that would have terrified the old ‘before’ me. That not getting elected, while frustrating because important issues were not getting addressed, did not defeat or crush me.

I believe that the business and finances of Abbotsford need to be run responsibly, prudently, professionally; with solid planning and budgeting to ensure the city has a sound and sustainable financial foundation.

I believe in responsibility, not in excuses; in doing the right thing even when painful; in delivering, not in grandiose false promises; that if it is happening in Abbotsford council is responsible for seeing an issue is addressed, not in pointing fingers at other levels of government.

I believe that city council and government needs to deal fairly, with a level playing field for all citizens; that no person or group of persons should be ‘more equal’ than others.

Sitting on one’s posterior allows problems and issues to grow unmanageable and wastes the valuable commodity of time; repeating the same behaviour over and over as if this time the outcome will be different not only can be defined as insanity but it allows the problem and/or issue to worsen and wastes resources.

If you cannot think of a different approach, take a look at ways other municipalities and governments successfully addressed the issue; ask the residents of Abbotsford for ideas – as Linus Pauling said, the best way to have good ideas is to have lots of ideas.

With people in the equation, the probability is that it is NOT going to be neat and tidy.

Sometimes you have to feel the fear and act anyway.

I believe  in writing about issues; in using good ideas; that you do not TELL people how to behave, you SHOW people by the way you live and behave; in leaving Abbotsford in better shape than it was when you came into office.

Once again I will try to convince voters that Abbotsford needs solid financial understanding and actions; that Abbotsford needs a variety of backgrounds, understanding and lived experience on city council; Abbotsford needs responsible, rational decision making that takes into consideration the future and future consequences of actions.

That Abbotsford cannot afford the outcomes and consequences that were a result of the decisions, actions and behaviours of the current [and recent past] mayors and councillors; that a change in mayor and councillors is a must.

I will ask that voters to allow me to actively participate in bring about the needed changes by electing me to Abbotsford City Council.

 

A few background facts:

I was raised and went to school in Georgetown Ontario, a community a little north and west of Toronto; attending Holy Cross Separate School and Georgetown District High School.

After graduating from Grade 13 I went to the University of Waterloo to study Mathematics, then moved to Saskatoon to study Commerce at the University of Saskatchewan. I chose the U of S because of the excellence of its reputation for Accounting, although when my father told me an old, good friend of his was the Dean of the College of Commerce at that time I took it as a positive sign it was a good choice.

I articled with Coopers & Lybrand in Saskatoon, wrote and passed the Uniform Final Exam earning the right to use the designation Chartered Accountant.

At the time Fate sent my life off into strange and unfamiliar territory I had 25 years of progressively challenging business experience.

Those 25 years and my experience with mental illness and homelessness result in me viewing and analyzing life and events from a unique point of view.

The best gift my parents ever gave me is a love of reading; a love that has saved and benefited me in a number of ways; a love that led to my passion for science fiction and fantasy and a collection of truly bad science fiction moves from the 1950’s and early 1960’s; a love that has left my home somewhat crowded as a result of having every science fiction and fantasy novel I have read.

I believe that if you live in a basement suite with children living upstairs it is unreasonable to expect QUIET; that if the jumping and playing for the children causes your ceiling light fixture to flicker – go to a thrift store, buy a floor lamp and don’t use the ceiling fixture. It is the job of children to play and be noisy; it is the responsibility of adults to encourage them to play, explore, learn, grow……..and be noisy.

While I enjoy people who know me, have read my words or have had someone tell them about me telling me that they will vote for me for Abbotsford City Council, I still am surprised; hopefully a good sign that my ego, while admittedly healthy, will not drive my decisions and behaviour if elected to council.

I was born in Canada; I am a Canadian citizen; most importantly – I AM CANADIAN.

Several hundreds of thousands of my words and thoughts can be found at www.jameswbreckenridge.ca

“If you don’t like the way the city is being run, run for city council.”
George Peary

I don’t like the way the city is being run and so I am running for Abbotsford City council to change the way the city is run, the way council behaves.

I believe that when an action council wants to take is against the Municipal Act council should obey the law – not ignore the law and/or find a way to circumvent the law. Particularly when the Municipal Act prohibits the action in order to protect municipal taxpayers from being saddled with multi-million dollars subsidies for the purchase of a professional hockey team. As the taxpayers of Abbotsford were when Abbotsford Council ignored the law and as the taxpayers of Chilliwack were NOT when Chilliwack council obeyed the law.

When a city council has such contempt for the Act that governs the way they manage the municipality that they feel it is their right to ignore or circumvent any law that interferes with what they want to do – what other laws, rules and regulations they have chosen to ignore or circumvent?

I believe that when a matter is before council that involves a person, company or organization that has made political contributions to the election of councillors those councillors must disclose this conflict and disqualify themselves from voting on any matter that affects a contributor to their election campaigns.

No councillor or mayor should sneak a matter that was voted down at one council meeting back before council at the next council meeting when one of the people who voted against the rezoning to permit the project is out of town; should they lack the integrity not to sneak the matter back before council, they should NOT be voting to approve the rezoning of a project proposed by a contributor to the mayor and councillor’s election campaign. Particularly when the other councillors vote against the project and it is only the two votes of those who were……contributed to by the developer that result in approval for the matter under consideration.

Council’s behaviour sets the tone for the behaviour of city staff. if council behaves in illegal and ethical ways……

I believe that a councillor must have a grasp of financial realities, an understanding of basic mathematics and an ability to step back in order to avoid getting so fixated on one aspect of the matter you make costly, millions of dollars costly, errors.

Abbotsford current council is so fixated on getting $61 million dollars of federal money for the water infrastructure upgrade they have not only poisoned the working relationship with Mission (buses, waste treatment, Norrish Creek water) but have spent $200,000 for a PR campaign to convince Abbotsford’s voters that paying an extra $127 million dollars in order to secure $61 million in federal grant money is a good idea.

Now if the mayor, council and staff each want to give me $127, I will be more than happy to give them $61 for that $127 because I will make $66 per person. What would you say if I offered to give you back $61 if you gave me $127? This is why the only choice for financially sensible taxpayers is to vote NO on November 19th’s P3 referendum.

I believe that an apology to the mayor, council and citizens of Mission for the boorish behaviour of Abbotsford’s mayor and council is due and that the most intelligent, fiscally responsible, course of action is to work with Mission as originally planned before Mayor Peary and councils temper tantrum at not getting their own way.

Under the original Mission/Abbotsford water infrastructure upgraded Abbotsford was to pay 2/3 of the cost and Mission 1/3.

Mayor Peary, council and staff are insisting that Abbotsford proceed alone to get federal funds to cover 21% of the project.

” I believe that a councillor must have …… an understanding of basic mathematics.” Anyone with an understanding of basic mathematics knows that 1/3 or 33% is larger than 21%. That working with Mission and having them pay 33% is a smarter financial choice than Abbotsford proceeding on its own in order to get a 21% federal grant.

Take into account the $1 million per year ($30 million over the 30 year planned operating period) extra it will cost to operate the water treatment under a P3 and going with the original partnership with Mission is a ‘No Brainer’. Except perhaps those who are mathematically challenged or , like the scarecrow in the wizard of Oz lack a….

I believe that council has a duty of care to manage the city’s business in a prudent, thoughtful and fiscally responsible manner that reflects the best interests of the City and its Citizens.

It is not council’s job to be looking for profits. Being prudent, thoughtful and fiscally responsible means council should not be chasing ‘profits’. Being prudent, thoughtful and fiscally responsible requires council to be aware that it is not savings when it costs you more to repair or finish a project.

I believe in behaving in a financially responsible manner, solid financial management and the need for leadership on finances.

Strict budgeting, financial discipline and squeezing as much bang from my bucks as possible are required in order to stretch a extremely limited income to pay my rent and cover my bills. I believe that council should behave as they would with their own money.

Properly used budgeting is a valuable management tool to control costs and understand where money is actually being spent. But this only applies where budgeting is treated as a serious exercise. However, with the fudge-a-budget Abbotsford’s staff and council currently produce, no benefits to management of the city’s operations and finances occur. Abbotsford’s budget process needs to be restructured so that the operational and financial management benefits of a well-managed budgeting process can be realized.

In a tight economy council should be showing leadership through such policies as no management salary raises, eliminating luxury budget items such as the mural recently painted on the walls at ARC and cutting actual budget items, not just items placed in the budget so council can be seen to be making budget cuts. If citizens have good ideas or suggestions then council should have no hesitation to make use or adopt these ideas or suggestions. If council is going to ask the public’s participation in the budget process they shouldn’t ignore or criticize the public suggestions and ideas simply because they are not what council wants to hear.

I believe in financial transparency; that taxpayers have the right to know how and where their money is being spent without the need to file FOI (freedom of information request) after FOI after FOI.

Council is there to serve the interests of all citizens, not just those who contribute to their election campaigns, have wealth or influence.

Facilities, fields, participation in sports and sports leagues should be accessible to all citizens. Membership at city facilities should not be the most expensive in the city. When it is significantly cheaper to be a member at a private gym than to be a member at a city facility, council’s priorities need to be realigned.

Houses in older residential areas of the city should not be torn down and replaced with monster homes. It is important to preserve the affordable housing that older neighbourhoods with smaller houses comprises.

Council should be providing leadership in the areas of affordable housing, homelessness, mental health and addiction services and support programs, poverty and hunger. Understand that leadership does not mean the city should be spending significant sums of money to address these issues. That is the responsibility of senior levels of government.

Abbotsford’s current mayor and council like to excuse themselves by pointing fingers at the provincial and federal governments. However, when the province makes available $11 million in capital funding to build affordable housing and an additional $650,000 per year for 25 years for support programs leadership requires that Council make use of those funds, no matter how politically uncomfortable showing that leadership may cause Council to be.

Abbotsford has many good people who want to help address these issues. What Abbotsford doesn’t have is the leadership that would give people, churches and other groups who want to be part of addressing these issues a focal point to come together, set priorities and work on accomplishing those priorities.

The first thing I did when I moved to Abbotsford 20 some odd years ago, was to get a library card. I consider the library or libraries in a community to be the most important public buildings; particularly in this day and age of rampant illiteracy, and functional illiteracy. A library is the crossroads of the community.

Over the years I’ve watched the demand for floor space at Clearbrook library make the library more and more crowded.

Clearbrook needs more study carousels, study rooms for students working on group projects and a space suitably large to house the children’s sub-library. The reason that the Clearbrook library building was built with a basement was to provide space for the library to expand into as Abbotsford grew and the demands on the library grew.

Unfortunately for the library, the librarians, patrons and the community the library isn’t a priority for mayor or counsel. Especially when there is money to feed councils spendthrift ways available by renting out the basement space to UFV.

Councils priorities should be the needs of the community. Not that needs the mayor and councillors.

One final point, I believe that the deal the mayor and counsel made to subsidize a professional hockey team – The Heat – is an illegal and therefore null and void. That the province must act on this violation of the Community Charter that governs municipalities in British Columbia.

I was born in Toronto Ontario and raised just west of Toronto in Georgetown.

I studied mathematics at the University of Waterloo and Commerce at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon.

I articled with Coopers & Lybrand and passed the Uniform Final Exam and became a Chartered Accountant. Over the 25 years of my career as a Chartered Accountant and businessman I held  positions of increasing responsibility acquiring a broad and varied set of skills and knowledge.

I moved to Abbotsford two decades ago because my brother needed someone he could leave his children with while he attended the 6:40 AM Attitude Adjustment meeting at the Alanon Club. My brother is an alcoholic who had been through treatment several times. After his last trip to treatment he had found the key to his sobriety – and has been sober ever since – was daily attendance of the 6:40 AM meeting. He was divorced with custody of his two young children and needed a responsible adult he could leave them in the care of while he attended his meeting – a meeting that was key to his sobriety.

His big brother, the kids uncle, the Chartered Accountant fit the bill of responsible adult to a tee and I moved to Abbotsford. When my brother remarried his second wife was from Newfoundland and one of those who really want to return to the Rock. When the family moved to Newfoundland I stayed in Abbotsford.

As I walk the path of recovery in mental health I can look back and see I had had mental health issues throughout my life. I had been raised in the ‘you suck it up and deal with it’ tradition so I did just that; I coped and coped until I couldn’t cope, couldn’t function. at all and broke.

The downward spiral that started when I was not able to cope any longer ended with me homeless and on the streets of Abbotsford. Fortunately for me I had taken my first steps on the path to recovery and Wellness, am goal oriented (Obsessive Compulsive behaviour does have some advantages among all the problems it causes) and was able to continue my journey of recovery.

It was a journey that was both life changing and eye opening, filled with new knowledge, understanding and change.

The truth is that although homelessness was not the way I would have chosen to Change myself, who I have become and the joie de vivre I have found means that if the only way to who and where I am now was through homelessness – so be it.

Among the changes was the writer inside being set free and I began to write to share what I was seeing and learning about the realities of homelessness, addiction, poverty and mental illness because the reality was so different from what I had ‘known’ before experience taught me differently.

The pointless waste of money and resources on doing things the same old way over and over as if expecting the results to be different (AA’s definition of insanity), when knowledge, experience and best practices have shown what actions produce recovery drives the Chartered Accountant in me crazy.

It was the waste brought about by the bad operating and financial management of the City of Abbotsford by mayor, council and staff aggravating the accountant in me that directed my attention to the way Abbotsford is managed.

I originally actively opposed Plan A because I considered the need to upgrade water and waste disposal infrastructure the priority mayor and council should be focused on. It became clear as we learned more about Plan A that it was a bad plan period and should not be proceeded with because it would have negative financial consequences for Abbotsford for years.

I choose to live in Abbotsford because I like the city, have friends, connections, things that need to be accomplished and purpose.

Because of that I have a vested interest in the way the city is managed, its financial health and the effects those have on citizens.

I don’t like what mayor and council have done to my city. I believe the way Abbotsford is managed needs to change drastically if our community is to thrive.

The one point I heartily agree with Mayor Peary on is that if you don’t like the way the city is run, run for council and change the way that Abbotsford is currently mismanaged.